Getting Ready For Graduation Season With Basic Invite

It is so hard to believe that we will soon enter the month of April. I mean really, where did the time go? We just celebrated our son's 13th birthday and are still working through our feelings on that one! In just another couple months, our younger daughter will hit another big milestone in her life. She will be walking across the stage to accept her diploma for her grad school program. And guess what? Later this year in December, my older daughter will be doing the very same thing herself! It's unreal thinking about having two of your children completing grad school and moving into the next stages of their adult lives. 

Today's conversation is sponsored by Basic Invite

We have such big milestones to start planning for and celebrating. Like us, many families are getting ready to have new graduates in their household whether it's high school or college. While graduations might be a little different this time around, the celebrations will still go on. Both of my daughters have been trying to find the right photographer to capture images so they can make graduation invitations and announcements.  We have spoken to other families who are planning to opt out of a large party, and are choosing a small dinner at a local restaurant. This is definitely the route that we are taking given the current climate around the world. 

I have been browsing Basic Invite to check out their selection of personalized graduation invites. One great feature that they offer is almost unlimited colors with instant previews online. Once you select a design, you can change the color of each element on the card. With over 180 colors to choose from, the invite is sure to be exactly how you want it! This is what sets Basic Invite apart from almost any other online stationery company. You can also request custom samples to make sure you are happy with the paper quality and colors before you are ready to have your final order printed. 

Basic Invite has over 40 different envelope colors to choose from. That's a lot compared to most places that tend to only offer white. All of the envelopes are peel and seal so they can be closed quickly and securely. They also offer an address capturing service that allows customers to share a link on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any other social media to request their friends and family’s addresses. The addresses are stored in the customer’s account and can be selected during the design process. Basic Invite offers recipient address printing at no cost on all card orders. A great place to start is with their open house invitation templates. 

Right now Basic Invite is offering 15% off with coupon code: 15FF51 

If you are planning graduation festivities, a baby shower, birthday party or wedding, be sure to keep Basic Invite in mind for your custom invitations and announcements. I better get on the ball right now since there is still time! Thank you for stopping by today. 

5 Crucial Things to Include on Your Party Planning List

Invitations, check. Drinks, check. Décor, check. Now what else do you need to host an awesome party? As fun as celebrations can be, they’re also a lot of pressure on the people who are going to be hosting them. You’ve got a lot to remember before the big day and various important aspects to organize, so it’s easy for something to slip through the crack.

If you want to ensure that everything goes off without a hitch, then you might consider using a party planning checklist to guide you. We’re going to help you out with avoiding catastrophes by reminding you of some of the things you need to include on that list. 

1. The Date and Time

Choosing the right date and time is one of the most important parts of planning a successful party. You need to pick a day that’s suitable for the guest of honor at your party, but it’s also worth thinking about the other people who are going to be attending too. For instance, do you need to choose a weekend so most of the visitors aren’t going to be at work?

If you’ve got a close-knit group of friends and relatives it might be helpful to check that the date you choose doesn’t clash with any events or significant holidays around the same time too. You don’t want people to have to choose which party to go to. 

2. The Venue

Where is your party going to be? Are you having a quiet get-together at home, or hosting a wine tasting event at your local bar? Do you need to go and hire a specific location, and how will the people attending your party be able to get there? Are there going to be parking spots nearby?

There are various aspects to the venue that you need to be aware of when you’re making the right choice. For instance, think about how many people this location can hold, and how big the celebration is going to be. It’s also worth checking whether you can decorate the venue yourself, or whether they’ll help you out and do that for you. What are the rules about music and curfews, and can the venue sell alcohol to your guests?

3. Booking the Professionals

Depending on the kind of party you’re hosting, you might need to get some professionals involved to help you out. For instance, if it’s a big event, you might want an entertainer to keep the kids and your guests happy. You might hire a magician, for instance, or a local band to play some music. On the other hand, you might just opt for a DJ to mix some tracks for you on the day. 

Other professionals might include caterers that you need to hire to help you out with feeding everyone who’s coming to your party. You might be able to do some of the cooking and prep at home if you’re not catering for too many people. However, bigger events often require some help. 

4. The Gift Situation

Presents are a common part of a great party situation, but there are sometimes rules to consider on the gifts that you’re going to give. Are you going to have a gift exchange where everyone can share presents as part of the party experience, or do you need a table where people can pile the gifts that they’ve brought for the person that you’re celebrating – for them to open later. If you’re all going to be exchanging gifts, do you want to stick to a specific budget or theme?

Depending on the nature of the party, it can be helpful to include some extra details about gifts on the invitation, so people know what to expect, and how to plan. For instance, for some parties, you might ask that people send the gifts straight to the person’s home, rather than bringing them to the venue. 

5. The Must-Haves

Finally, create a small list of absolutely essential things that you really need to prioritize above anything else. These are the things that you want to spend extra time and attention on, because if everything else goes wrong, you know they’re going to save the party. 

The must-haves on your party planning list will depend on the nature of the party, and what you consider to be important. For some people, the right music will be crucial, whereas for others it’s all about the catering. Bring this part of your checklist to the top, and get help making sure that everything you need is available. 

South Carolina Is The Hot Spot For The 2017 Total Solar Eclipse

In a couple short weeks, school will resume around these parts. My middle girl will begin junior year at the University Of South Carolina, the husband will be in grad school working on his MBA, and the littlest one will start fourth grade in his third year being a home schooler. We are all so sad that the summer break is coming to an end. We are planning to have one last hurrah by having an Ismail Party of Five-Total Eclipse Party. Okay, okay, it's not as fancy as I'm making it sound. We will be here at the house waiting in anticipation of viewing the eclipse. It will be the perfect time for the five of us to hang out and witness what will be a historical event.

It turns out that Columbia, South Carolina is one of the top spots in the country where the view is slated to be at 100%! Our local news has estimated over 1 million people will make their way to our state to partake in seeing the eclipse. Hotels are sold out everywhere and they say traffic will be crazy all over. That's a great thing for South Carolina businesses, for sure. If you aren't sure if your area will be able to catch any of the action, you can check here by entering your zip code.

The most important thing we did to prepare for the eclipse was to first purchase eclipse safe glasses, which we did a month ago. Little William was listening to a news report in regards to viewing the eclipse safely and insisted we must have the proper eye-wear. Here are the ones we got. Lucky for us, they came in a pack of 5. Perfect for our family!

Since we purchased them early, they were very inexpensive. I have noticed a big rise in the cost all over. I guess people are recognizing how dangerous it can be to your eyes if you get too much exposure to the direct sun. Let's hope these glasses work because when you put them on, you can't see a thing! Of course William had to be the first to try them on. 

We are so excited to have the opportunity to view the total solar eclipse together. I hope that you live in an area so you can catch a glimpse, too. Now we will keep our fingers crossed that the weather will hold up! Will you be participating in this big event? 

*This post contains affiliate links. Any purchases made gives me a little pocket change. 

Celebrate Your Graduate Safely: Tips on Hosting a Foodborne Illness-Free Party

The final exams are taken, the diploma is framed and the cap is thrown in the air. Now it’s time to celebrate your graduate’s latest major life milestone! For those hosting large parties, preparing large amounts of food for friends and family is hard enough but ensuring food is safe and pathogen free can be downright stressful.

"Hosting parties take a great deal of work and we often focus so much on preparing and serving food in a timely fashion that we don’t think about preparing and serving food safely," says Deirdre Schlunegger, CEO of Stop Foodborne Illness , a national, nonprofit, public health organization dedicated to preventing illness and death from foodborne pathogens. To help ensure you are serving food that won’t spread foodborne illness, Stop has put together a list of food safety tips to help party hosts put out their best and safest food when celebrating their graduates.

For hosting a party, Stop Foodborne Illness suggests:

• Have a plan! Cooking such an important meal for a large gathering of friends and family can be stressful and lead to subpar approaches to handling food. Think about your refrigerator, freezer and oven space, and how you'll manage to keep hot foods at 140 degrees or higher and cold foods at 40 degrees or below. If you need to use coolers, make sure you have plenty of clean ice. Whatever you do, don’t rely on the natural outdoor or indoor temperatures to keep foods at proper temperature!
• Wash your hands. When preparing food, Stop Foodborne Illness emphasizes the importance of washing your hands thoroughly and keeping all surfaces you’re working on clean.
• Wash produce. Stop Foodborne Illness recommends washing even prepackaged greens, to minimize potential bacterial contamination.
• Keep cooking surfaces clean and sanitized. Preparing raw meat and poultry on the same surfaces as food that does not get cooked could lead to cross-contamination. Make sure kitchen counters, sponges, cutting boards, and knives are all well-scrubbed.
• Defrost Safely. Properly defrost meat by allocating 24 hours per 5 pounds to defrost in the refrigerator. If you need to defrost quicker, place the meat a large bowl filled with cold water and change the cold water bath every 30 minutes.
• Cook to proper temperature. And use a thermometer to ensure food has been cooked enough to kill bacteria. Find out more with this safe food temperature guide.
• Food brought by party guests. While help is always appreciated, remind guests to transport cold foods in a cooler below 40 F and bring hot foods in an insulated carrier to ensure the temperature stays at or above 140 F. Prepared foods must be refrigerated or thrown out after two hours.
• Refrigerate leftovers. Many people don’t think twice about leaving food out on the counter all day. Two hours is the limit. Allowing food to sit out longer is one of the easiest food safety mistakes to make since food left in the danger zone—above 40 degrees and below 140 degrees–facilitates bacterial growth. To avoid this, Stop recommends storing leftovers in 2-inch deep, shallow containers within two hours of serving.

Remember, practicing safe cooking procedures is not just for the host. For those attending graduation parties as guests, bring dishes, not pathogens. Here are a few things guests can do to help prevent the spread of foodborne illness:

• Wash your hands. Even if you don’t prepare food you should still wash your hands before you eat.
• Pack hot foods while hot. If you’re preparing a hot dish at home and bringing it to the party, pack it right away! Don’t wait for hot foods to cool down before packing. If you reheat at the party, remember to check the temperature with a thermometer.

About Stop Foodborne Illness

Stop Foodborne Illness is a national nonprofit public health organization dedicated to preventing illness and death from foodborne pathogens by advocating for sound public policies, building public awareness and assisting those impacted by foodborne illness. For more food safety tips please visit www.STOPfoodborneillness.org/awareness/. If you think you have been sickened from food , contact your local health professional. You may subscribe to receive Stop Foodborne Illness e-Alerts and eNews here: www.STOPfoodborneillness.org/take-action/sign-up-for-e-alerts/ and follow their news at their newsroom here: http://www.newsline360.com/stopfoodborneillness.

Raleigh Catering Company

Since catering has become a real trend nowadays, it was impossible for the Raleigh community not to benefit from such a service. Many people have tried for years the services provided by the Raleigh Catering Company and they ended up with beautiful events, enjoying them while being more relaxed.

This company has been offering their services to this area for many years now, having a friendly attitude and having a large array of courses and dishes, suitable for any kind of occasion and event that you might have. They take pride in having a personal connection with their customers, which is easy to understand, since most of the events a catering company needs to take care of have a personal character.

As it is ideal, the chefs and the personnel are highly trained professionals that know everything that is necessary in several types of techniques and various cuisines around the world. Besides offering a standard menu, they can also provide signature dishes created especially for a particular event, which is extremely useful if you need to host a fine dining event with high class guests. Their large experience is not just a thing they brag with, but it is very useful when you count on people to help with your event.

The quality of the ingredients is also extremely important. There have been cases with some companies that used bad quality ingredients and the result, of course, is not that delicious. For this reason it is important to provide fresh and pure vegetables and meat. Moreover, besides the quality, the Raleigh catering service offers a large and varied array of dishes. For people who want to host a different event, communities of expats or people of different origins, this matters a lot, since they can enjoy their traditional dishes by simply calling a catering company, instead of cooking for hours and hours in a row.

Prompt service and competitive prices are all the more reasons for which people choose to use the services provided by this catering company. Of course, a slow service is just as important as the ingredients, the type of dishes and the price, which should convince you to double-check before trusting someone with the success of your own event.

The staff here can even help you with part of the planning, and the advice of a professional is literally priceless, especially when you have tons of other things to take care of. Furthermore, it is really easy to find the company online and give them a call and it is advisable to do this as soon as possible, to make sure everything is ready in time.

Big Accomplishments In The Ismail Household

December has been the busiest month for our family and it has nothing to do with the holiday season. Both my older daughter Chardonnay and my husband Dwayne graduated from college within days of each other (Dec 9th & 12th). Let me tell you, it's no easy task pulling off two graduations so close together. We had a celebration for both of them in our home that Sunday in between the actual ceremonies. I'm happy to say that we got through it all with minimal stress and everything came together beautifully.

Chardonnay graduated Magna Cum Laude with Leadership Distinction from the University of South Carolina with a Bachelors of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communications. She was able to graduate a semester early because she had all of the credits she needed. This was her dream since she was 5 years old to become a Gamecock and go to the University of South Carolina. Her strong work ethic and will took her all the way! She plans to continue her education to obtain her graduate degree.

The graduate with her very proud parents. 

We are truly a Gamecock family 

My husband Dwayne, graduated Magna Cum Laude from Southern Wesleyan University with a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration. He also gave the Invocation (prayer) for the ceremony. The whole ceremony from beginning to end was outstanding and even little William shed some tears. This was such a challenge for Dwayne to work full time, take care of his family, having the responsibility of being his mother's caregiver, as well as attend classes. By God's Grace and his determination, he made it through. Dwayne is a great example to anyone (especially working adults with families) that you can do it!

This isn't a great quality photo, but I was able to grab a video clip and screen captured this photo of Dwayne saying the prayer. I had to hold myself together to keep the phone still. Truly an inspirational and memorable moment. What a blessing! 

It was SO chilly when it was time to take photos! This is why we all had jackets on.

These two buddies were SO happy to be reunited after the ceremony. William is his father's number one fan. 

This has been such a wonderful time of celebration for our family. None of this could have been possible without faith and teamwork. Go Dwayne and Chardonnay! 🙌

Celebrating Your Girlfriends on Gal-entine’s Day

Haven’t heard of Gal-entine’s Day, yet? It’s high time you started observing this wonderful celebration of female friendship. Originally coined by Amy Poehler’s character Leslie Knope on the hit NBC show “Parks and Recreation”, this occasion is celebrated on February 13th, the day before Valentine’s Day. It’s meant to commemorate the beautiful bond and love between best friends, and if you’ve got a great crew of gals you adore, you need to celebrate your friendships and give a nod to the many different but just as wonderful types of love in your life.

Gifting isn’t Just for Lovers
Give your best gal pals a token of your appreciation for their friendship with some sweet and sentimental presents this Gal-entine’s Day. Skip the stale presents and make your besties feel like queens with some heartfelt presents you know they’ll adore. Whether it’s friendship bracelets (those aren’t just for preteens you know!) or tickets to a show you know all of you will enjoy, sweet little presents will definitely have your besties feeling the love.

A Fun Project
Want to keep busy while you’re hanging out? Provide all the supplies for a fun DIY project. Whether it’s making a dream board of all the hopes and wishes you all have for the future using pictures and terms cut out of a magazine, or a wonderfully scented homemade shower scrub, you’ll laugh over your arts and crafts project and leave the evening with a fun memento of the fun times you had that evening.

Paint ’N Wine Night
If you haven’t done a paint and wine night yet, you’re missing out. There are tons of companies in every big city that offer evenings where you and your girlfriends can get firsthand instruction from an artist and create a copycat painting masterpiece, all while sipping on alcoholic beverages and eating yummy appetizers. You’ll all go home at the end of the night with a new painting to hang on your wall, and every time you see it hanging on your wall in the future you’ll smile and think of the amazing women in your life.

Karaoke Night
What better way to spend an evening celebrating love than singing your heart out to some ballads with your besties? Head to a local karaoke bar and pick your favorite jams, sing some duets, and rock out to girl groups for a celebration that will have you losing your voice (all in good fun, of course!)

Television Binging
What is a night in front of the television without some delicious snacks? Order in food and have it delivered from a company like DoorDash, or do it smorgasbord style with a yummy charcuterie and cheese board, mini sliders, and chocolate berries from a company like Shari’s Berries. Celebrate women by picking movies with female leads: think Katniss from “Hunger Games” or the funny, singing gals from “Pitch Perfect”.

For Far Away Besties
If your best friend lives far away but you still want to let her know you’re thinking of her, send a fun card that will provide a happy surprise come February 13th  when she checks her mailbox. Plan a Skype date to catch up and get all the details on any Valentine’s plans you two might be celebrating with the lucky fellas in your lives.

A Girl’s Trip
If you and your friends are all single for the Valentine’s holiday, then you’ve got the entire weekend to work with for your Gal-entine’s celebrations (no wallowing about not being a relationship necessary, ladies). Go out on a sweet getaway weekend that will have you all feeling rejuvenated come the following Monday. What about a wine tasting weekend with a side of luxury spa treatments? Or perhaps you’ll head out on a ski weekend to make the most of the snow still clinging to the ground as winter winds its way down. Whatever it is that you like to do, plan a last-minute trip and celebrate with the girls who know you best.

Romantic relationships can come and go, but your best friends are always there for you, so make sure you celebrate all the types of love in your life this February.

A priceless moment in a girl's life

This past Friday, our daughter Chardonnay was crowned the 2012 Richland Northeast High School Homecoming Queen. It was such an exciting night for our family and certainly will be treasured forever! Check out the super short video clip (start at 9:54). There were lots of tears and smiles!

Waiting to be called down to get in place to walk out onto the field at half-time. 

Patiently waiting with her Papo. He looks like security! 

The introduction of the girls that were running for Homecoming Queen and their dad/escort. 

The crowning. She was in tears! Even her little sister cried.  

Me and my girl! 

My favorite girls | Friends for life

I was looking at an old photo of my daughters along with their friend, Haley.  Chardie and Haley met in kindergarten and became best friends from day one. Although Haley and Chardie are in the same grade, Brie took a liking to Haley and joined in on the friendship. After all these years they still get together for sleepovers, outings and parties. Haley is referred to as being my third daughter. I love her as if she was my own! When Haley comes to the house, I enjoy making them my "world famous" grilled cheese sandwiches and baking cookies. It has been a tradition for many years and all three girls look forward to it.

Chardie and Haley were in kindergarten and Brie was still at home with me! This was taken at their end of kindergarten school trip to a local park. How adorable are those sweet faces?! 

Here are the girls are all grown up. Chardie and Haley are finishing off Junior year and will become Seniors next school year. Brie will be a Sophomore next school year. *sniff*

All three girls have made us so proud. They are all very high academic achievers and have such outstanding manners and a love for the community. We couldn't ask for better daughters! It has been a joy watching the three of them grow up together. It is wonderful to have lifelong friends that become a part of your family. 

Do you or your children have any of the same friends since early childhood?